Terry.Dickson@jacksonville.com Waycross city engineer Jessica Deal and the plans for an 1,800-foot rails-to-trails project that will go through the heart of the city when complete.

WAYCROSS | A town built around railroads will soon have a trail where trains once rumbled through town.

The Waycross City Commission is perhaps weeks away from giving winning contractor Greene Concrete Construction the notice to proceed on turning an 1,800-foot section of railroad bed into a multi-use trail, city engineer Jessica Deal said. Greene Concrete’s $513,203 bid was the lowest of three, and $300,000 of that funding will come from a transportation enhancement grant.

CSX transferred the rail bed to the city under the federal rails-to-trails program. The city decided on the trail project to make downtown more walkable.

The most expensive part of the project will be a trailhead and park on a triangular corner of land between the rail bed and Carswell Avenue. There will be a shelter, traditional lighting, benches and other amenities in what will be the first phase, she said.

Waycross was spared a lot of expense because the Herrin family donated the acreage for the trail head and CSX Transportation abandoned the railroad in 2006 and then took out the rails, cross ties and stone ballast leaving the city with an elevated surface ready to pave.

The removal of the particular section of track shifted trains to other double-tracked routes as the railroad sought to speed up its movement through the important rail hub while getting the trains off downtown streets.

CSX also planted oaks along the former tracks as part of its Trees for Tracks initiative in which the railroad has pledged to plant 21,000 trees, one for each mile of track in its 23-state service area.

The street crossings are all painted, but the project won’t be done until fall. In fact, Deal said, the project was rebid because there originally was only one very high bid. When the project was put out for bids a second time, the project was stripped down a little to shed expense, but it was also moved forward to make completion later, Deal said.